belt CHEVROLET IMPALA 2001 8.G Owner's Manual

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Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag systems:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you aren't wearing your safety belt
-- even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Air bags are ªsupplemental restraintsº to
the safety belts. All air bags are designed to work
with safety belts but don't replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Frontal air bags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to work only in moderate
to severe crashes where the front of your vehicle
hits something. They aren't designed to inflate
at all in rollover, rear, side or low
-speed frontal
crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants,
frontal air bags may provide less protection in
frontal crashes than more forceful air bags have
provided in the past. The side impact air bag
for the driver is designed to inflate only in
moderate to severe crashes where something hits
the driver's side of the vehicle. It isn't designed
to inflate in frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there's an air bag
for that person.

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CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inflate
with great force, faster than the blink of an eye.
If you're too close to an inflating air bag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for air bag inflation before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal air bags. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle, and should not lean on the door.
CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults, but not for young
children and infants. Neither the vehicle's safety
belt system nor its air bag system is designed
for them. Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can
provide. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle. To read how, see the part of this manual
called ªChildren.º

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In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near
-frontal impacts. For the side impact
air bag, inflation is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For both
frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing system
triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates
the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering
wheel, instrument panel and the side of the driver's
seatback closest to the door.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protectionprovided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But the frontal
air bags would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts, and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward
the air bag. The side impact air bag would not help you
in many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily
because the occupant's motion is not toward that air bag.
Air bags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near
-frontal collisions for
the driver's and right front passenger's frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver's side impact air bag.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag
module
-- the steering wheel hub for the driver's air
bag, the instrument panel for the right front passenger's
bag, the side of the seatback closest to the door for
the driver's side impact air bag
-- will be hot for a
short time.

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The parts of the bag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn't prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
CAUTION:
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can't get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior lamps on when the air
bags inflate (if battery power is available). You can lock
the doors again and turn the interior lamps off by using
the door lock and interior lamp controls.In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.

Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, you'll need some new parts for your
air bag system. If you don't get them, the air bag
system won't be there to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include air bag modules
and possibly other parts. The service manual for
your vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.

Your vehicle is equipped with an electronic frontal
sensor, which helps the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. Your vehicle is also equipped with a
crash sensing and diagnostic module, which records
information about the frontal air bag system.
The module records information about the readiness
of the system, when the system commands air bag
inflation and driver's safety belt usage at deployment.
The module also records speed, engine rpm, brake
and throttle data.

Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag systems. Improper service can mean that an
air bag system won't work properly. See your dealer
for service.

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Center Front Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front bench seat, someone can sit in
the center position.
When you sit in the center front seating position, you
have a lap safety belt, which has no retractor. To make
the belt longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along
the belt.

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To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap
-shoulder belt. If the belt isn't long enough,
see ªSafety Belt Extenderº at the end of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
Rear Seat Passengers
It's very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear
seat are hurt more often in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren't safety belted can be thrown
out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All three rear seating positions have lap
-shoulder belts.
Here's how to wear one properly.

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1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don't let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
On some vehicles, when the shoulder belt is pulled
out all the way, it will lock. If it does, let it go back
all the way and start again. If the belt is not long
enough, see ªSafety Belt Extenderº at the end of this
section. Make sure the release button on the buckle
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.

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3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies
force to the strong pelvic bones. And you'd be less likely
to slide under the lap belt. If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there's a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.

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CAUTION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward too
much, which could increase injury. The shoulder
belt should fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.

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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide
added safety belt comfort for older children who
have outgrown booster seats and for small adults.
When installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide
better positions the belt away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort
for children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here's how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.